Overhaul the LAPD, in this economy? Questions surround chief's plans

By Libor JanyStaff Writer

May 1, 2025 3 AM PT

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When Jim McDonnell took over as Los Angeles police chief late last year, he promised to take stock of the department within 90 days and start overhauling what needed fixing.

Nearly six months later, seemingly little has changed and there are growing questions about when — or even if — McDonnell will shake things up.

Complicating the chief’s situation is the possibility of losing more than 400 civilian workers to layoffs as city leaders scramble to close a $1-billion budget gap.

McDonnell addressed the delays in his reorganization plan during a City Council committee hearing Wednesday, saying that his original three-month timetable was set back by the January wildfires.

Now, the chief said, the challenges ahead are clear.

“I have an opportunity as we move forward with our senior leadership team to reevaluate based on what the budget ends up looking like,” he said, “and then to be able to streamline our operations to support our core functions, which is getting out there and answering radio calls for service.”

Council members are trying to figure out how to save positions on the chopping block, including by reducing overtime funds or even potentially slowing down the hiring of new police recruits.

Some have expressed concerns that patrol officers would be taken out of the field to backfill certain desk jobs. Roughly 130 positions — including crime scene photographers and analysts who process fingerprints and ballistic evidence — are not easily replaced, McDonnell warned.

“We know cops aren’t going to turn a wrench, and we need somebody to fix” broken-down squad cars, Councilmember Tim McOsker said.

Another council member, Eunisses Hernandez, requested more information from the department about whether the millions spent on its helicopter fleet was justified given the city’s financial straits.

Among other changes, McDonnell said he has considered updating the department’s so-called “basic car” plan, which divided the city into small geographical areas that are patrolled by a senior lead officer who is responsible for building ties with community representatives. The city has grown since the program was last studied, he said.

McDonnell on Wednesday repeated his promise to announce a departmental realignment after the completion of a study by Rand Corp., a global policy think tank brought in last year to conduct a top-down review. McDonnell told council members that the department had received some preliminary recommendations from the study, with a final version expected in the coming weeks.

The chief has also convened numerous working groups, which he has said will “reevaluate the way we’ve been doing business versus what we may look to do moving forward.”

Given the “very difficult financial times,” he said, it would be “very questionable” to plan for a future with “major increases” to the department’s size.

Connie Rice, a longtime civil rights attorney who has both sued the LAPD and advised past chiefs on reforms, said McDonnell shouldn’t have to wait for high-priced consultants to tell him what’s wrong with the department.

Among the challenges, she said, are the department’s “hollowed out” community policing program and long-standing issues with racism. She noted McDonnell has said little about how he intends to address allegations about a group of recruitment officers who were secretly recorded making derogatory comments about Black police applicants, women and LGBTQ+ co-workers.

“The LAPD is in a world of trouble, and the xenophobic comments are just the start,” Rice said.

Mario Munoz, a retired LAPD internal affairs lieutenant who now runs a firm that advocates on behalf of whistleblowers, said he has heard concerns within the department about McDonnell’s inaction.

“I don’t think [police officials] know what he’s looking for, because he hasn’t made his expectations clear,” Munoz said, adding that his sense is that even after the Rand audit there will not be major changes or “true reform of the system.”

With crime numbers continuing to trend downward, McDonnell has received public support from Mayor Karen Bass and the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents rank-and-file officers.

But a faction in the Command Officers Assn., which represents all officials above the rank of lieutenant, has pushed for the union to call a no-confidence vote against McDonnell, citing growing discontent over his performance so far.

Some of McDonnell’s backers point out that the chief took a similarly deliberative approach during his last two leadership stints, as chief of police in Long Beach and as Los Angeles County sheriff. Given the challenge of taking over a department as large and complex as the LAPD, it only makes sense that McDonnell should take his time, they say.

In a letter to Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky ahead of his Wednesday presentation to the budget committee, McDonnell argued against eliminating hundreds of jobs and said that the staffing reductions could lead to the closure of three city jails.

“Tasks previously performed by civilian professionals may require staffing by sworn personnel, potentially impacting the number of officers that are available to deploy for protection and service to our communities,” the chief’s letter said.

Amplifying the uncertainty, McDonnell has yet to fill several captain and several commander vacancies, and he has not elevated any candidates from the lieutenant’s promotional list.

But he has made some personnel changes, including moving Deputy Chief Emada Tingirides from her longtime home base in South Bureau to Central Bureau. She was replaced by Deputy Chief Ruby Flores. He also ousted the civilian head of the department’s constitutional policing office, who had drawn the wrath of the police union.

Bernard Parks, a former chief who later served on the City Council, said McDonnell is in a tough spot amid the budget crunch and competing pressures from inside and outside the department.

Parks said he laid out his reorganization plan within weeks of being appointed chief in 1997, but he didn’t fault McDonnell for treading carefully.

“The key is if you have a plan, you should share it as best you can in its totality: We’re at Point A, and we’re trying to get to Point Z,” Parks said. “Stops and starts are the worst thing you can do with an organization because people lose interest quickly.”

Others have similarly preached patience for McDonnell.

Councilmember John Lee, who chairs the council’s public safety committee, said in an interview last month that the chief had privately shared some plans for the department, which centered on improving recruitment and retention of officers.

Lee said it’s “very natural” for some senior officials to worry about their fate under a new chief.

“There’s a lot of different concerns from everybody — it could be a captain whose commuting might change or somebody who’s established really good relationships with a community,” Lee said.

McDonnell may not be moving as quickly as some would like, Lee added, but “we have to put a little trust in him.”

Times staff writer David Zahniser contributed to this report.